Intelligent Nest, Montreal, QC (2026)

04/26/2026

We are thrilled to share some exciting news from Intelligent Nest!
Please join us in welcoming ツ Dr. Stefania Pecore. as our Director of Tech and Innovation.

Dr. Pecor has been a valued strategic advisor to our team within the tech sector since last year, and her insights, leadership, and forward-thinking approach have already made a meaningful impact.

We are now incredibly excited to have her step into this key leadership role and help drive the future of innovation at Intelligent Nest.

Her expertise will play a vital role as we continue to grow, build, and empower through technology.

We’re so happy to officially have you on board in this capacity, Stefania, welcome to the next chapter! 🚀

Learn more about our work: https://lnkd.in/e9cHfVMJ

04/26/2026

It was an absolute honor for Intelligent Nest to present and host a data-driven panel at this year’s WTM Annual Day ✨

We brought to the stage a conversation that is often felt, but not always named:

Tech talent barriers for English-speaking women in Quebec.

This wasn’t just a panel. It was voices from the ground up.

Real stories. Real data. Real gaps.

From our work with hundreds of women and especially through our HerFuture Ready Spring 2026 cohort, we highlighted a few hard truths:

• The system is not built for non-linear journeys

• The hidden job market continues to exclude

• The “French-first” narrative is more complex than it seems

• And the AI gap is growing faster than most are prepared for

But more importantly, this conversation was about what we do next.

To our incredible panelists:

Annalise Iten

Maya Toussaint (she/her)

Sta Kuzviwanza

Rashida Geddes

ツ Dr. Stefania Pecore

Thank you for bringing depth, honesty, and leadership into this space. These are the conversations that move things forward.

To everyone who joined us, shared their voice, and reflected with us, thank you. You made this session what it was.

And to WTM, thank you for creating a platform where these conversations are not only possible, but necessary 🤍

Because this is not a niche issue.

This is about the future of work.

And we’re just getting started.

04/26/2026

It was an absolutely joyful day at the WTM Annual Day.

We brought together our cohort and partners, created the coziest little nest in the garden, and shared beautiful moments with everyone who stopped by.

The connections we made throughout the day were truly special.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, it meant so much to have you there. And a heartfelt thank you to Women Techmakers Montreal for hosting such a beautiful event 🤍

04/26/2026

And just like that, the Spring 2026 cohort has come to an end.

Seven weeks of accountability, community, and peer support.
Seven weeks of showing up together and learning side by side.
Seven weeks that began with letting go of what was holding us back from being change-ready in today’s job market, moved into exploring new possibilities, and now lead us into a powerful new beginning.

And yes, this is only the beginning.

Thank you, Spring 2026 cohort, for staying together all the way through.
I’m so proud of what we’ve built and even more excited that we’ll stay connected from here on.

Diana Michelle Lesmes Cárdenas, Cécile Boudjenah,Anita Berthier, Eva M Ellis, Yacquelin Forero, Fariba Naeiji, Patricia Bravo, Bridget O'Connor, Salta Sadykova, PMP, Janani Mahendran, Yana Tomashevska, Flor Campos Flores, Trilce Porras, POPM, CPM, Prosci, Kateryna Boiko, Houda BOURASSI. P.Eng, Lianna Della Vecchia, Albena Strupchanska, Claire Gabriel, Manuella Johnson, Divine Bila, Karina Sanchez, Natali Grimm, Fiorella Rios Campos, Goeun (joie) Han, Tinhinane Boudiab

Welcome to the alumni board 🤍

If you're interested in joining the next cohort, here is the waiting list: https://lnkd.in/e2s96SCd

04/26/2026

At Intelligent Nest, we design programs to prepare women for the future of work, but what truly sets our cohorts apart is the community that forms along the way.

Our Her Future Ready pilot brought together women navigating career transitions in tech and digital fields. Through hands-on learning, AI exploration, and real conversations about the job market, something powerful emerged: connection, trust, and mutual support.

This past weekend, our cohort organized a spontaneous potluck, a reflection of the kind of space we’re building. One where professional growth and human connection go hand in hand.

As we take insights from this pilot to the Women Techmakers Montreal panel and prepare for our Women’s Career Conference on May 30, we remain committed to one belief:

You can become future-ready without losing your humanity.

🔗 Join us at the upcoming panel to explore the data behind these experiences: https://lnkd.in/e7iKQP_M

🌱 Visit us in the Garden for 1:1 career strategy coaching

📅 Save your spot for the Women’s Career Conference “Her Future of Work” (May 30): https://luma.com/qxt3t6an

🚀 Join the waitlist for our next cohort: https://lnkd.in/eqhWX4dB

04/26/2026

What does it actually look like to do AI research? Not the LinkedIn version. The real one. 🤯

This week's "A Day in Tech" Job Shadowing session brought us face to face with Michell Payano, AI Researcher at Mila, one of the world's leading AI research institutes, and she held nothing back.

Michelle's path alone was worth the session:

→ She started in Economics
→ She found her way to AI research
→ And now she's at Mila, bridging the gap between economics and AI in ways that matter

That journey resonated deeply with our cohort, women who are themselves mid-transition, mid-reinvention, proof that non-linear paths can lead somewhere extraordinary.

She talked about the full picture of AI research:

→ The challenges, the uncertainty, the slow progress, the moments of doubt
→ The meaningfulness, what it feels like to work on problems that actually matter
→ The realities of academia and university life that no one prepares you for
→ What AI learning looks like in practice, not in theory

For the members in our cohort thinking about continuing studies, specializing in AI, or wondering if research is even a path for someone like them, this session was exactly what they needed to hear. 💙

And the best part? This isn't goodbye, Michelle.

We'll see you again at Women Techmakers Day and we cannot wait. 🦋✨

Thank you for showing up so openly and generously for our community.

---

🔒 These sessions are for our INSIDERS ONLY.

👉 Join the waitlist now and be the first to know when spots open:
https://lnkd.in/ewJ5axyA

04/26/2026

You're not invisible because you lack experience.
You're invisible because you haven't been intentional about your visibility.

That's what Krista Kelly, former HelloFresh marketer turned career coach, opened with in our Personal Branding workshop this week. And the room went quiet.

She broke it down into one equation:

💡 Work → Visibility → Reputation → Opportunity

Most of our cohort had the Work part locked.
What was missing was everything that comes after it.

Krista gave them that:

→ Build a profile based on the job you WANT, not the job you have
→ Consistency builds trust and credibility. Online and offline.
→ Define your target role and positioning first, then focus on 1-2 skills you want to be known for in a select few industries
→ Go from invisible to landing opportunities by making the exact right changes, not more changes, the right ones

No vague advice. No "just put yourself out there." Specific, practical steps the cohort could act on that same evening.

With 100+ clients helped and counting, Krista knows what actually moves the needle and she gave all of it to our cohort. 💜

Thank you Krista Kelly for a session that will quietly change how this cohort shows up online. ✨

---

🔒 These workshops are for our INSIDERS ONLY.

👉 Join the waitlist now and be the first to know when spots open:
https://lnkd.in/ewJ5axyA

04/26/2026

Something very special is happening next Wednesday. 🦋

One of our own is stepping up to teach.

Fariba Naeiji, NLP Developer, AI researcher, and member of our Spring 2026 cohort is leading our next Expert Workshop:

🤖 Prompt Engineering: From Basics to Production-Ready AI
📅 Wednesday, April 15th, 6:00 PM

Here's what our participants will walk away with:

→ How to design, test, and optimize prompts that actually work
→ Core techniques: zero-shot prompting, chain-of-thought, and beyond
→ Advanced patterns including RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
→ Real-world strategies for evaluation and iteration in production

And what makes this one truly special?

Fariba is one of us. She came into this program as a participant. And now she's sharing her expertise with the whole cohort because that's exactly the kind of community Intelligent Nest is building.

Women who lift as they climb. 💜

We are so proud of you, Fariba. ✨

---

🔒 These workshops are for our INSIDERS ONLY.

👉 Join the waitlist now and be the first to know when spots open:
https://lnkd.in/ewJ5axyA

04/26/2026

Some sessions leave you with notes. This one left us with something deeper. 💙

This week's "A Day in Tech" Job Shadowing brought us into the world of Pranjali Puranik, Senior Software Engineer in the gaming industry, and she showed up with radical honesty.

She talked about what a day in tech actually looks like. But she also went way beyond the job.

She talked about:

→ What it's really like to navigate a software engineering career as an immigrant woman in Canada
→ The invisible weight of balancing motherhood with a demanding tech role
→ The moments of doubt, the pivots, and what kept her going

And our cohort felt every word of it.

The chat said it best:

💬 "Thank you for the honest answers. It's really important for us here also to recognize we have so much freedom and choice." — Cécile

💬 "Thank you so much for sharing and all great questions. I really enjoy even just listening to the conversation." — Albena

That's what happens when someone shows up fully. Not as a success story. As a real person.

Thank you Pranjali for being exactly that and for reminding our cohort that they are not alone in any of it. ✨

---

🔒 These sessions are for our INSIDERS ONLY.

👉 Join the waitlist now and be the first to know when spots open:
https://lnkd.in/ewJ5axyA

04/26/2026

Ana Palacio came back. And this time, she went deep. 🟢

After her first session left our cohort asking questions they hadn't dared ask before, Ana Palacio Vélez MA EdTech founder of Hannai returned for her workshop on Personal Go-To-Market Strategy.

And she opened with something that reframed everything:

💡 No strategic relationships → No leverage → No net worth.

Not your resume. Not your credentials. Not your years of experience.

Your strategic relationships are your positioning.

She broke it down through the Hannai framework, shaping opportunity through three pillars:

→ Relevant people
→ Relevant spaces
→ Relevant trust

And she pushed the cohort to ask the hard questions most job seekers never think to ask:

• Who understands this problem?
• Who operates in this space?
• Who can actually accelerate my positioning?
• Do I have them in my network?
• If not, where are they?

For women who have built entire careers in other countries, this hit differently. Because the skills are there. The experience is real. What's often missing is the map, the strategic understanding of who needs to know you exist, and how to get in front of them.

Ana gave us that map. 💙

Thank you Ana for showing up twice, going deeper each time, and building Hannai as the infrastructure our community has needed for a long time.

---

🔒 These workshops are for our INSIDERS ONLY.

👉 Join the waitlist now and be the first to know when spots open:
https://lnkd.in/ewJ5axyA

04/26/2026

The job market has changed. And the old playbook isn't working anymore. 🔄

This week, Peng A, founder of TaskNow, a project-based talent discovery platform incubated at Next AI and McGill's Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship, joined our cohort to talk about something urgent:

💡 How to Escape the Hiring Doom Loop.

And the data backs up everything he shared:

→ 70% of employers now use skills-based hiring, up from 65% just last year (NACE Job Outlook 2026)
→ Only 42% of employers plan to screen by GPA in 2026, down from 73% in 2019
→ The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 confirms that a significant share of core job skills will evolve before the end of this decade — it's already happening
→ Portfolio careers are accelerating across all age groups, with 82% of senior executives acknowledging that the idea of one career path for life is gone (IMD, 2026)

The message was clear: your degree got you here. Your skills portfolio will take you forward.

Peng showed our cohort that TaskNow exists precisely for this moment, to bridge the gap between internationally-trained talent and the real, project-based opportunities where their skills can finally speak for themselves.

No more applying into the void. No more being overlooked because your resume doesn't "look Canadian enough."

Your work should speak for you. And now there's a platform being built to make that possible. 💙

Thank you Peng and the TaskNow team for bringing this vision into our space and for building something our community genuinely needs.

---

🔒 These sessions are for our INSIDERS ONLY.

The next cohort isn't open to the public yet, but if you've been thinking about making your move into tech in Quebec, this is your sign.

👉 Join the waitlist now and be the first to know when spots open:
https://lnkd.in/ewJ5axyA

Intelligent Nest

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category